Conventionally, a cardiac pacemaker (hereinafter referred to simply as “pacemaker” where appropriate) exists as one of the artificial organs. The pacemaker is embedded in the body with a battery acting as driving power source. The pacemaker embedded in the body, while receiving a supply of driving electric power from the battery, causes the heart to beat regularly by directly applying an electrical pulse to and stimulating the heart. A nickel cadmium cell, lithium cell or the like is used for the battery acting as the driving power source of the cardiac pacemaker. The pacemaker maker continues applying an electrical pulse to the heart until the life of the battery runs out.
However, in the case of the above conventional example, there is a problem that the battery cannot be charged from outside the body while the battery remains embedded in the body. That is, since the battery remaining embedded in the body cannot be charged, when the life of the battery runs out, it is necessary to perform an operation to incise the body of the user of the artificial cardiac pacemaker, take the battery out of the body, and embed a new battery as replacement. However, the battery changing operation for incising the body imposes a heavy burden especially on a person having trouble with the heart.
This invention has been made having regard to the state of the art noted above, and its object is to provide a contactless charging system for an artificial organ, and a storage device and a feeding device for use with this system, in which the storage device embedded in the body along with the artificial organ to act as an artificial organ driving power source, while remaining embedded in the body, may be charged reliably in a contactless mode from outside the body (without incising the body).